CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) is a naturally occurring 37-amino acid peptide that is generated by tissue-specific alternate processing of calcitonin messenger RNA and is widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous system. CGRP is localized predominantly in sensory afferent and central neurons and mediates several biological actions, including vasodilation. CGRP is expressed in alpha- and beta-forms that vary by one and three amino acids in the rat and human, respectively. CGRP-alpha and CGRP-beta display similar biological properties. When released from the cell, CGRP initiates its biological responses by binding to the CGRP receptor which is a heterodimer consisting of the G-protein coupled calcitonin-like receptor (CLR) in association with the single transmembrane protein known as receptor activity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1). CGRP receptors are predominantly coupled to the activation of adenylyl cyclase and have been identified and pharmacologically evaluated in several tissues and cells, including those of brain, cardiovascular, endothelial, and smooth muscle origin.
CGRP is a potent neuromodulator that has been implicated in the pathology of cerebrovascular disorders such as migraine and cluster headache. In clinical studies, elevated levels of CGRP in the jugular vein were found to occur during migraine attacks (Goadsby et al. (1990) Ann. Neurol. 28, 183-187), salivary levels of CGRP are elevated in migraine subjects between (Bellamy et al. (2006) Headache 46, 24-33) and during attacks (Cady et al. (2009) Headache 49, 1258-1266), and CGRP itself has been shown to trigger migrainous headache (Lassen et al. (2002) Cephalalgia 22, 54-61). In clinical trials, the CGRP receptor antagonist BIBN4096BS has been shown to be effective in treating acute attacks of migraine (Olesen et al. (2004) New Engl. J. Med. 350, 1104-1110) and was able to prevent headache induced by CGRP infusion in a control group (Petersen et al. (2005) Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 77, 202-213). The orally bioavailable CGRP receptor antagonist telcagepant has also shown antimigraine effectiveness in phase III clinical trials (Ho et al. (2008) Lancet 372, 2115-2123; Connor et al. (2009) Neurology 73, 970-977).
CGRP-mediated activation of the trigeminovascular system may play a key role in migraine pathogenesis. Additionally, CGRP activates receptors on the smooth muscle of intracranial vessels, leading to increased vasodilation, which is thought to contribute to headache pain during migraine attacks (Lance, Headache Pathogenesis: Monoamines, Neuropeptides, Purines and Nitric Oxide, Lippincott-Raven Publishers, 1997, 3-9). The middle meningeal artery, the principle artery in the dura mater, is innervated by sensory fibers from the trigeminal ganglion which contain several neuropeptides, including CGRP. Trigeminal ganglion stimulation in the cat resulted in increased levels of CGRP, and in humans, activation of the trigeminal system caused facial flushing and increased levels of CGRP in the external jugular vein (Goadsby et al. (1988) Ann. Neurol. 23, 193-196). Electrical stimulation of the dura mater in rats increased the diameter of the middle meningeal artery, an effect that was blocked by prior administration of CGRP (8-37), a peptide CGRP receptor antagonist (Williamson et al. (1997) Cephalalgia 17, 525-531). Trigeminal ganglion stimulation increased facial blood flow in the rat, which was inhibited by CGRP (8-37) (Escott et al. (1995) Brain Res. 669, 93-99). Electrical stimulation of the trigeminal ganglion in marmoset produced an increase in facial blood flow that could be blocked by the non-peptide CGRP receptor antagonist BIBN4096BS (Doods et al. (2000) Br. J. Pharmacol. 129, 420-423). Thus the vascular effects of CGRP may be attenuated, prevented or reversed by a CGRP receptor antagonist.
CGRP-mediated vasodilation of rat middle meningeal artery was shown to sensitize neurons of the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (Williamson et al., The CGRP Family: Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP), Amylin, and Adrenomedullin, Landes Bioscience, 2000, 245-247). Similarly, distention of dural blood vessels during migraine headache may sensitize trigeminal neurons. Some of the associated symptoms of migraine, including extra-cranial pain and facial allodynia, may be the result of sensitized trigeminal neurons (Burstein et al. (2000) Ann. Neurol. 47, 614-624). A CGRP antagonist may be beneficial in attenuating, preventing or reversing the effects of neuronal sensitization.
The ability of the compounds of the present invention to act as CGRP receptor antagonists makes them useful pharmacological agents for disorders that involve CGRP in humans and animals, but particularly in humans. Such disorders include migraine and cluster headache (Doods (2001) Curr. Opin. Invest. Drugs 2, 1261-1268; Edvinsson et al. (1994) Cephalalgia 14, 320-327); chronic tension type headache (Ashina et al. (2000) Neurology 14, 1335-1340); pain (Yu et al. (1998) Eur. J. Pharmacol. 347, 275-282); chronic pain (Hulsebosch et al. (2000) Pain 86, 163-175); neurogenic inflammation and inflammatory pain (Holzer (1988) Neuroscience 24, 739-768; Delay-Goyet et al. (1992) Acta Physiol. Scanda. 146, 537-538; Salmon et al. (2001) Nature Neurosci. 4, 357-358); eye pain (May et al. (2002) Cephalalgia 22, 195-196), tooth pain (Awawdeh et al. (2002) Int. Endocrin. J. 35, 30-36), non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (Molina et al. (1990) Diabetes 39, 260-265); vascular disorders; inflammation (Zhang et al. (2001) Pain 89, 265); arthritis, bronchial hyperreactivity, asthma, (Foster et al. (1992) Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 657, 397-404; Schini et al. (1994) Am. J. Physiol. 267, H2483-H2490; Zheng et al. (1993) J. Virol. 67, 5786-5791); shock, sepsis (Beer et al. (2002) Crit. Care Med. 30, 1794-1798); opiate withdrawal syndrome (Salmon et al. (2001) Nature Neurosci. 4, 357-358); morphine tolerance (Menard et al. (1996) J. Neurosci. 16, 2342-2351); hot flashes in men and women (Chen et al. (1993) Lancet 342, 49; Spetz et al. (2001) J. Urology 166, 1720-1723); allergic dermatitis (Wallengren (2000) Contact Dermatitis 43, 137-143); psoriasis; encephalitis, brain trauma, ischaemia, stroke, epilepsy, and neurodegenerative diseases (Rohrenbeck et al. (1999) Neurobiol. Dis. 6, 15-34); skin diseases (Geppetti and Holzer, Eds., Neurogenic Inflammation, 1996, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla.), neurogenic cutaneous redness, skin rosaceousness and erythema; tinnitus (Herzog et al. (2002) J. Membr. Biol. 189, 225); obesity (Walker et al. (2010) Endocrinology 151, 4257-4269); inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, (Hoffman et al. (2002) Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 37, 414-422) and cystitis. Of particular importance is the acute or prophylactic treatment of headache, including migraine and cluster headache.